Land Ownership Transfer and Productivity: Evidence from Taiwan

Previous studies of tenancy and land reform programs suggest that these programs substantially increased agricultural productivity. However, these studies are limited to sharecropping environments. This paper investigates the productivity effect of the 1953 land ownership transfer program in Taiwan, where fixed-rental contracts predominated. This program transferred 27% of the paddy land to incumbent tenants in six months and was followed by exceptional agricultural performance. However, my findings suggest that when agricultural disaster is controlled for, this program actually had statistically insignificant effects on productivity. This result is explained by the predominance of fixed rental contracts and an almost permanent tenure situation before the land transfer. ∗ Email: [email protected]. I appreciate helpful comments from Gene Amromin, Maitreesh Ghatak, Michael Greenstone, Todd Kendall, Fabian Lange, Steven Levitt, and Erzo Luttmer. Of course, all errors are mine. 2